Growth and characterization of ZnO nanostructured material

ZnO is a wide band gap (3.37 eV) semiconductor material with a high exciton binding energy (?:.-.60 meV) at room temperature, which is a prerequisite for realization of efficient and stable optoelectronic systems. We demonstrated the APMOCVD growth of nanostructured ZnO material on Si and SiC with advanced emitting properties. The comparison of the properties of nanostructured polycrystalline layers with spatially disconnected ZnO nanocrystals clearly showed the advantage of the latter structures. Such structures distinctively luminesce in the UV range of the spectrum due to excitonic emission, while the contribution of the defect related luminescence is negligible. The significant improvement of the PL properties can be related to the decreased number of non-radiative recombination centers in the nanocrystals of high structural quality.